


Shatterstar Goes Shopping

by lesbianvampire



Category: X-Force (Comics), X-Men (Comicverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Shopping Malls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-13 05:07:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19244440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbianvampire/pseuds/lesbianvampire
Summary: Shatterstar picked up a spiky leather bracelet from a jewelry bin. “This would suit Rictor.”Tabby frowned. “I dunno, man. Seems a little last-decade to me.”“As a man from a hundred years in the future,” Shatterstar said, “I will take your word for it.” He put it back.In which Boom Boom helps Shatterstar find a Valentine's Day gift for Rictor.





	Shatterstar Goes Shopping

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place during X-Force (1991). Rictor and Shatterstar are dating and everybody knows it (so, basically just like canon).

“Tabitha!” Shatterstar threw open the door to Tabby’s bedroom. It slammed against the wall, startling her so bad she jumped and nearly spilled her coffee.

“Watch it, will ya, Star?” Tabby scowled. 

“My apologies, Tabitha. I am in dire need of your assistance,” he said, running his fingers through his sweaty red hair.

“You need someone to spot you while you lift? Ask Rictor,” she said, and sipped her coffee.

“No, no. On Mojoworld, we do not bother with such silly practices as spotting. My plight does not concern exercise, but it does concern Julio.”

Tabitha raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? What’s up?” 

“I have recently been informed about the holiday called Valentine’s Day, in which one spends time with and offers romantic gifts to one’s significant other. I wish to celebrate this holiday with Rictor, but I am afraid I do not know much about the customs of this particular holiday and I do not want to disappoint him”

“Gotcha. So you want me to, what, tell you which lacy thong you should buy?”

“No, of course not. I have already chosen the lingerie for the occasion.” 

Tabitha gave him a look. He grinned.

“But on a serious note,” Shatterstar continued, “I am simply asking for your help in picking out an appropriate gift for Julio. I assumed you would be the best person for me to ask about this matter, considering your close relationship with him.”

“You assumed right. And lucky for you, I love shopping almost as much as I love that dumb kid.” Tabby grabbed her wallet. “Hey, Shatty -- you have money, right?” 

“Indeed.” Shatterstar pulled a wad of cash from his pocket. “I have saved up for such an occasion.”

“Nifty,” she replied. “Let’s hit the mall!”

At the mall, Shatterstar’s face lit up as he took in all the sights and sounds. Tabby knew it wasn’t his first time here, but that didn’t stop him from trying to visit every single store. Ordinarily she wouldn’t mind, but right now they had a goal, and she didn’t want them to get distracted. 

“Star, we gotta focus,” she said, pulling him out of a Claire’s. The lady behind the counter looked relieved to have the man with two swords strapped to his back out of her store. “What kind of gift are you thinking of getting Rictor? Usually on Valentine’s Day people give each other candy and heart-shaped junk, but I don’t know if that’s really Ric’s style.”

“No,” Shatterstar agreed. “I was hoping to give him something slightly more permanent, if possible.”

“Got it,” Tabby replied, glancing at the nearby stores. “How about clothes or accessories? I bet he’d like that.”

“I agree.” Shatterstar stepped into a JC Peggy and Tabby followed. Calm folk music played in the store as they wandered the aisles. Tabitha didn’t have the heart to tell Shatterstar he was browsing the women’s section. She supposed it didn’t really matter, as long as he found something Rictor would like. 

“Za’s vid!” Shatterstar exclaimed. Tabby hurried over to where he knelt in the sock section. 

“Look at this, Tabitha! These socks are patterned with swords!” He held them up so she could see. 

Tabby suppressed a laugh. “Yeah, they are. Lots of socks have weird patterns these days. But we’re not shopping for you, remember.”

“Of course.” Shatterstar stood up. “My mistake.” 

“You’re good, dude. But I’m not seeing anything here that I think Rictor would like.”

“Neither am I.” Shatterstar scratched his cheek. “Perhaps we ought to try next door.”

Next door was an Eternally 20 store. The music was a lot louder and the colors a lot brighter. Tabby fondly recalled sneaking into stores like this and stealing all her little hands could carry, back when she was a youth. She was grown up now, and far too mature to consider such petty theft. Probably. 

The store was littered with teenage shoppers, who all moved out of Shatterstar’s way upon catching a glimpse of him. Tabby noticed them watching him with round eyes and whispering to each other. She was used to Shatterstar’s odd physique, but she could see why a seven foot tall man with long red hair and two swords on his back might give some folks cause for alarm. She tried to put on a reassuring smile for them so no one would assume they were dangerous mutants planning on robbing the place. Judging by the looks on people’s faces, it came off as something closer to a mischievous smirk.

Shatterstar picked up a spiky leather bracelet from a jewelry bin. “This would suit Rictor.”

Tabby frowned. “I dunno, man. Seems a little last-decade to me.”

“As a man from a hundred years in the future,” Shatterstar said, “I will take your word for it.” He put it back.

Tabby watched as Shatterstar rifled through the clothing racks. He went through them extremely quickly, barely glancing at each piece of clothing before moving on to the next one. Tabby wondered whether it was the warrior reflexes he so often alluded to which allowed him to make such rapid judgments. After several minutes, Shatterstar began to lose steam. His shoulders slumped, and he turned back to Tabby.

“Still not finding anything good?” she asked.

“It is not that. I have discovered many items that may be suitable. Yet…” His forehead creased. “I worry that none of them will be quite enough.”

Shatterstar sat on the floor, looking defeated. His long legs sprawled out on the linoleum. 

“I am still so new to all of this,” Shatterstar admitted. “Julio deserves the world, I am certain of that. But what if I am not capable of giving it to him? I just...I do not want to be anything less than what he deserves. I do not want to fail him.” 

He stared at the aisle across from them, his gaze resting on a display of brightly patterned tees, but Tabby got the feeling that for once, he wasn’t absorbed in the spectacle around him. She crouched next to him.

“You won’t fail him,” she promised. “You could never fail him. You and Ric have something special, and maybe I don’t know exactly what that means for you, but I know that you are enough for him. And honestly? The guy’s so head over heels for you that you could give him a toothpick and he’d be overjoyed.” 

Shatterstar chuckled. “Thank you, Tabitha. I hope you are right.” He stood up and glanced through the doorway, deeper into the mall. “I believe-- Oh!” 

He took off, sprinting. Tabby yelped and scrambled to a standing position. She trotted after him, grumbling.

Frickin’ super-senses, she thought. Shatterstar must have seen something across the mall that her own eyes hadn’t been able to catch. She hoped that whatever it was wouldn’t pose much danger to the civilians. With only the two of them there, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to adequately protect them. She readied a time bomb and followed Shatterstar into yet another clothing store. 

Tabby found him grinning at a piece of fabric in his arms. She glanced around and failed to spot anybody who looked like a potential enemy. Quickly, she flung the time bomb into a pile of sweaters, hoping nobody noticed the muffled BOOM! issuing from it. 

“What the hell, Star?” she snapped. “I thought we were in danger!”

“Quite the opposite,” he replied. “Behold! A gift for Julio!”

He held out the scarf for her to see. It was dark green and wonderfully soft, yet it seemed durable as well. Tabby couldn’t help but smile. 

“It’s perfect!” she said. “I just know he’s gonna love it.” 

Out of the corner of her eye she saw an employee examining the tattered pile of sweaters, then looking at Shatterstar suspiciously. She grabbed Shatterstar’s arm.

“Okay, time to go now!” she said, dragging him out of the store. 

Shatterstar frowned. “But I need to pay for this, yes?”

“Not this time, Shatty!” she said, and they ran.


End file.
